# Were There Any Other Ancient Cultures That Tolerated Homosexuality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2003, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051 "2003-08-05T04:44:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051/21 "2003-08-05T23:13:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Improvisor \* > \*\*An interesting quote from the book also gives some indication to the Renaissance acceptance of homosexuality: > “An indication of how homosexuality was viewed in fifteenth-century Florence may be seen in the fact that in Germany during the 1470’s the popular word for homosexual was _Florenzer_.” - _Leonardo, the First Scientist_ by Michael White \*\* You also might want to check out “Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Rennaisance Florence”, by Michael Rocke. Rocke looks at surviving records of “The Office of the Night”, a special court set up in Florence between 1432-1502 specifically to try sodomy cases, and finds that in the 70 years it existed, 17,000 men were investigated for sodomy. When you consider that Florence at that time only had a total population of 40,000, that gives you some idea how common homosexuality was in Florence at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051/22 "2003-08-05T23:23:02Z")
At least some Native American cultures had a place for [“two-spirited people.”](http://www.portlandmercury.com/2001-06-14/ex.html) A character of this nature was portrayed in the 1970 film _Little Big Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051/23 "2003-08-06T02:05:37Z")
G’day There is some indication (in Greek sources) that the ancient Persians might have tolerate a man having sex at least with a eunuch. Alexander the Great’s _eromenos_ was a Persian eunuch called Bagoas, who according to Curtius had previously been loved by Darius, the Great King of Persia. By the way, you can read about the Sambia at \<[http://icarus.ubetc.buffalo.edu/users/apy106/cultures/sambia.html](http://icarus.ubetc.buffalo.edu/users/apy106/cultures/sambia.html)\>. Although anal and transdermal ‘inseminations’ (and even inseminations per os) of boys are reported as features of certain cultures in the highlands of New Guinea, the sources only seem to mention fellatio among the Sambia specifically. And although these inseminations were indeed supposed to make boys into men, they seem to have been performed over a period of years, not concentrated into a rite of passage. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![WeRSauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f19dbf/32.png) [@WeRSauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WeRSauron)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051/24 "2003-08-06T13:17:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raygirvan \* > \*\*Ancient Egypt, probably: see [the tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep](http://www.egyptology.com/niankhkhnum_khnumhotep/), two men who cohabited and shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of the King. \*\* Oy. Seems like there are truths to some stereotypes, even way far back as Ancient Egypt! 🙂 WRS [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-there-any-other-ancient-cultures-that-tolerated-homosexuality/193051.md?page=1)